Whether you are running a consumer health company or a life science company, you need the strongest CEO possible to lead in this dynamic business climate.
All CEO’s need to have deep expertise of their subject matter in the industry. Full life-cycle product development, introducing new products to market, understanding the importance of a great customer experience –not only product pricing, but also the cost of building a great product and satisfying stakeholder requirements. Fundraising and managing the board of directors is essential to the CEO’s longevity. This sounds like a really big job… It is. Failure to enhance their all- encompassing role is why CEO turnover is so high.
The Five Attributes Necessary for Strong CEO’s
1. Embrace change- It’s inevitable when M&A activity is high and new competitors enter the market — regulatory challenges and embracing change and managing to the change allows for continued success.
2. Must be a subject matter expert leadership and know business. The CEO needs to understand industry levers, develop strong relationships and know how to increase value in their given market.
3. They use analysis to drive strategy – the good CEO’s will have a “feel” for the business and will
also use metrics to verify and monitor activities to adjust strategy and drive for the right results.
4. They are agile managers, they navigate all situations by building strong teams that work collaboratively and get results.
5. Focus on finances- fundraising (public and private) and spending, metrics for margin, growth and then use these both to drive business decisions.
When you find these five attributes in a CEO, you should hire them.
Notice we did not note charismatic or dynamic personality in there. Even though this type of CEO are often drivers and well liked, we have focused on skills and attributes that are inherent in CEO’s of all well run businesses.
Five Attributes for the Ideal CEO
